Endangered Species

The Colonel’s aide gave me a stack of clothing; new underwear, a tan-colored T-shirt, socks and boots, and Army Combat Uniform pants. I stood up after tying my boot laces. The Colonel handed me the jacket. I recognized the insignia on the collar and froze. “This is an officer’s device, ma’am. I should cut it off.”

She handed me the hat with the black bar. “Battlefield promotion,” she responded. I put on the jacket and hat. Colonel Pullam shook my hand. “Congratulations, Ensign Summers.”

“Thank you, Colonel.” I saluted her, and she returned it. I followed her out of the basement, returning the salutes of the guards on the way out. We were back in the command building and in a conference room. The General was there with his staff and two additions I didn’t expect. “Ensign Summers, reporting as ordered, General,” I said as I stood at attention.

“At ease, Ensign. Be seated. We’ll start once my Operations Officer gets here.”

“Aye aye, sir.” I sat next to Major Perriman, who looked wiped out, but a LOT better than the last time I saw him. “How are you feeling,” I whispered.

“Much better,” he replied. “I freaked out the doctors. I woke up when they started poking my wound. They didn’t believe I’d been shot through the shoulder just a few hours earlier, but they couldn’t ignore the holes in my uniform and the blood. My collarbone wasn’t shattered anymore, and my skin had healed over. I’m getting my strength back after a good meal and lots of fluids. That werewolf bite is some powerful medicine.”

“I’m sorry you got shot.”

He put his hand on my arm. “Shit happens when people with guns get scared in the dark,” he said. “We completed the mission, and you got me back here. I won’t forget that, Angela.”

“Any other changes?”

“Not yet. I have a while until the fevers, right?”

“The second day is hell, and the change hits on the third day. It’s going to suck.”

“Rangers embrace the suck,” he said with a smile. “Pain is just weakness leaving the body.”

I shook my head. “You’re going to be one strong soldier,” I replied. I didn’t envy anyone who would go through the pain I endured, even if the physical rewards on the back end were significant. It made me think of my women, many going through the change right now.

A few more people took seats before the General directed the guards to close the door. Candles and a few oil lamps gave the room dim lighting, but I could see fine. Maps covered the wall, showing the Hood Canal and the submarine base. “Let’s get started,” he said. “I just got off the radio with Northern Command in Colorado Springs,” he said. “The good news is that General Jones no longer thinks I’m crazy. National Guard units have made contact with werewolves east of the Rockies.”

I raised my hand. “Sir, did my message from the USS MAINE get to the right people?”

“I passed it along, Ensign Summers. I haven’t heard anything else. Radio communications are spotty with the atmospheric changes, so I had limited time to discuss our situation.” I nodded, feeling good that I’d completed my mission. “Northern Command will not allow a nuclear base to remain under the control of potentially hostile werewolf forces. We are the only major military command in the Pacific Northwest still operational, so the mission falls to First Corps. We are to retake the base as soon as possible. If I report that we cannot, other less palatable options are on the table for the President.” We all knew what that meant, and none of us wanted that. “Major Perriman, if you could summarize your recon mission results for us.”

“Yes, General.” He stood and grabbed a pointer from the whiteboard as he walked to the map of the submarine base. “As you can see, the Bangor base is large and wooded. Insurgents are in these tunnels and underground storage locations on the north end as shelter. The bunkers allow the storage, maintenance, movement, and arming of the ballistic missile submarines outside the view of satellites or boats on the Hood Canal. The complex has four entrances, all protected by blast doors.”

“What kind of numbers did you observe?”

“We observed two military trucks returning with supplies and unloading, thirty-three men and women. Some shifted from wolf to human form upon return. Multiple patrols plus guards at the gates.”

“It was the middle of the night, so most of the scavenging parties would still be out,” I added.

The General didn’t like this news. “And you think the total population could be about a thousand, Ensign?”

“Yes, sir. After returning to the marina, we talked with three werewolves. They were members of the Brinnon Pack when I was at the base. I knew one of them pretty well from the leadership meetings. He said Alpha Edward Winters had killed the other Alphas and was consolidating the Puget Sound region Packs at Bangor. Their group was moving supplies from Brinnon to the base. When I said a thousand, I was talking about adult warriors. The total population could be double that.”

“Jesus,” one of the Captains along the wall muttered.

“Yeah,” I replied. “The women and children still have guns, teeth, and claws. They will fight to the death to defend their Packs and families.”

“If you ask us to assault the base, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” Major Perriman concluded. “The numbers will be about even, but they have all the advantages except surprise.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” I said. “With their patrols, the buffer zone they are creating, and their superior senses? They will see you coming. Add in that they can fight effectively at night, communicate instantly, and retreat to the underground bunkers if overwhelmed. A direct attack won’t work.”

“How would you do it,” a bird Colonel asked.

“Decapitation,” I replied. “Packs have a strict hierarchy, enforced by the Alphas through the wolves. My friends are not happy with the situation, but they don’t have a choice. If Alpha Winters gets knocked off, another wolf with Alpha-level power could take over.”

“What, change one wolf for another?”

“Yes, if I’m the new Alpha. I could get them to surrender. It’s the only way to do this without a lot of bloodshed on both sides.”

The General tapped his fingers on the table. “I can put you with our attack force, but how do you get the werewolves to emerge from the tunnels? You can’t kill the Alpha if he’s deep in a hole.”

I nodded. “That’s true, and that is what Alpha Winters will do if humans attack. He can’t do it if another Pack arrives on his territory and their Alpha challenges him for the top spot. He HAS to come out, or he’s a coward. The Pack would kill him for me if he hid from me like a scared little bitch.” That got some laughs. “Pack leadership challenges have laws and traditions behind them. He won’t be able to refuse me, especially since he sees me as young, weak, and female. He won’t even consider the possibility of losing. All members of both Packs will have to come outside and witness the challenge, which takes away the defensive advantage.”

“What exactly does a challenge entail?”

“A fight to the death in wolf form,” I said.

“Can you win?”

I just smiled. “Before I can challenge, I need to have a Pack to walk in with me. Without warriors to protect me, he could have me killed.”

“Will two thousand soldiers be a sufficient escort?”

“No, but two hundred volunteers that take the change would be,” I told him. “You need a Pack to knock off a Pack, General. I need a week to get volunteers, change them, and train them to fight with the new capabilities.”

This proposal went over like a fart in church. “You want me to let to raise a Pack from MY soldiers to be under YOUR command?”

“Yes, General.”

That Captain rolled his eyes. “I’m supposed to take orders from a butterbar with no combat experience? With all due respect, General, that’s never going to work.”

Butterbars were Second Lieutenants/Ensigns, the lowest-ranked officers. “Sir, once you have a wolf, you won’t see it that way. Werewolf rank flows from your wolf’s strength and dominance, not how long you’ve been in the service or how many tests you take. Like me, you can be an Alpha at twenty-one or the lowest-ranked Omega at forty. It all depends on the wolf you get after I bite you.”

Major Perriman walked behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “She’s asking for volunteers, General. I asked for the change; it saved my life, but it would be worth it just for the healing and sensory advantages it gives me. How many people do we have in the hospital right now, sir? How many are blind or suffering from radiation sickness, unable to get effective treatment, and doomed to a slow death?”

“Hundreds,” one of the officers said.

“I could ask them first,” I continued. “I’ll explain everything to get informed consent, but I bet you that most of your severely injured will take it. I don’t know if it will return eyesight, but I’m confident it will return them to good health. What do they have to lose? The world has changed, and even the healthy among you will struggle to survive.”

They knew I was right, and I could see it in their eyes. The General finally broke the silence. “Major, take Ensign Summers to the hospital and start the briefs. Ensign, NO ONE gets the bite without my express permission. Understood?”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“Meanwhile, the rest of you will work on attack plan options using our human military forces. I’m not crazy about turning my people furry and placing them under an Ensign’s command, but I can see it might work. Find something better.”

“Yes, General,” they all replied.

“Get to work.”